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Maenesad
Maenesad is a drow city located in the Northwest of the continent of 20 Kingdoms. Geography Maenesad is a strange city by drow standards. It is located just under the surface of the Jagged Peaks in Hunter’s Vale. It is so close to the surface in fact that its western gate opens to the surface. To the south lies the port city of Sterlingport and the Silverwing Monastery. The six towns that make up the Heart of the Vale are located to the west and on the far side of the Vale sits the dragonborn city of Seitanchi. Maenesad is the only civilized access point to the Black Depths that sit below the surface of the world which has led to it becoming one of the most interestingly diverse cities in the realm. Almost every race of civilized humanoids can be found here in some capacity. This diversity has led to a great deal of wealth for its Drow residents. The cities second gate to the east side of the city leads down into the caverns that serve as the main access point to the Black Depths. There are countless smaller tunnels that run outward from the city as well but none open into the city common. The wealthiest houses have built their compounds around the tunnel entrances so that they may use them unseen by their neighbors. Structure The city consisted of 9 main zones with the Maenesad Markets at the center. From the top of the cavern ceiling, the city took on an obvious likeness to a spider with the 8 zones around the markets stretching out like legs down narrower caverns. Both city gates opened to the markets. The Northside of the market was inhabited entirely by drow. Each of the 4 caverns ran as a microcity with its own council and also represented the inhabiting houses wealth. The closer to the eastern gate a cavern was, the more wealthy the residents. Non-drow were not allowed in these areas without a drow escort and the wealthiest district was off limits entirely to anyone but drow. The poorest of the drow caverns was called the Webless Ward as it was widely considered that almost every house in the district were not in Lolth’s Favor. Next was the Broken Boulevard. It earned this name by the amount of destroyed houses that dotted the cavern streets. The boulevard was by far the most tumultuous of the drow districts due to the constant fight for position of the houses. The third cavern was the Dancing District due to its residents worshiping the goddess Eilistraee. The houses in this district mirrored the Chaotic Good disposition of their patron deity and served as a barrier between the warring houses of the Broken Boulevard and the richest houses of the Deep Terrace. The Deep Terrace was the final and wealthiest of the drow districts and sat farthest from the surface. The residents of the terrace were of the richest and most ruthless of all the drow in Maenesad. On the opposite side of the markets sat the four other districts. The closest disctrict to the surface on this side was Everlight Way. This district never dimmed due to the everlight torches that burned along the streets. For the most part, this district consisted of taverns and inns for traveling surface merchants that came to the city. The next district was Murder Alley. As the name suggests, this district was constantly marred with violence due to it being the place where most surface and subterranean races coexisted outside of the markets. The third district was known as the Den of Despair which it earned due to their not being a single ray of light casts there. This district housed the inns and taverns for the merchants traveling from the Black Depths. The final district was the Temple District. This district held the drow government buildings, military, academy, and both Temples. Commerce Maenesad thrives as the only trade city to be friendly to both surface and underground merchants. Almost anything crafted by the inhabitants of Pericloa can be found in the markets for the right price although most items demand a higher price than could be found in a purely surface or underground market. One of its largest imports is food and drink. The drow produce almost no agriculture so everything needed to feed its inhabitants must be purchased from outside the city. Government Maenesad was a matriarchal government with each district having a number of sitting matrons on the city council equal to their districts ranks among the city. Therefore, the Webless Ward had 1, Broken Boulevard 2, Dancing District 3, and Deep Terrace had 4 matrons. The council stays in a deadlock due to the worshipers of Lolth controlling the Deep Terrace and half of the Broken Boulevard and the worshipers of Eilistraee controlling the Dancing District and one seat each from the two districts below them. This deadlock has stood for hundreds of years. Each district also has a self elected council of Matrons that handle affairs within their respective zones. Culture There were primarily two deities worshiped in Maenesad, Lolth and Eilistraee. Each had a temple and an academy. Drow males were trained in the academy of their houses patron deity and the females were trained in the temple to become priestesses. The non-drow districts were among some of the most diverse areas in all of the world. Almost every race of the material plane and some of other planes could be found within these areas. The music, food, and drink reflected this diversity. Category:20 Kingdoms Category:Cities of Hunter's Vale